LinkedIn Profile Best Practices For 2025

Want to get noticed on LinkedIn this year? Whether you're building a personal brand or attracting new business, your profile is the first step.

With over a billion users, LinkedIn has become a powerful platform for professionals, business owners, and marketers alike. A well-optimised profile can help you grow your network, build credibility, and open doors to new opportunities.

In this guide, we’ll cover the most important LinkedIn profile best practices for 2025, with clear, actionable tips you can implement right away.

Why your LinkedIn profile matters in 2025

In 2025, recruiters, clients, collaborators, and even journalists are checking LinkedIn before reaching out. Whether you're job hunting, selling a service, or networking, your profile needs to tell a compelling story.

LinkedIn profiles that are fully completed and regularly active get up to 40 times more opportunities. It’s no longer enough to just exist on LinkedIn — you need to show up and stand out.

How to optimise your LinkedIn profile

Use this checklist to make sure your profile ticks all the right boxes:

✅ Add a professional headshot and branded banner

• Use a clear, friendly photo with good lighting
• Avoid distractions, sunglasses, or busy backgrounds
• Add a banner image that reflects your industry, brand, or message

Here's how Neil Patel has created his profile with a professional headshot and background image featuring the promotion of what his business does:

✅ Craft a value-driven headline

• Go beyond your job title
• Use this formula: I help [audience] [achieve result]
• Add relevant keywords and keep it under 220 characters

Some people like to use the bold statement format: I help [insert your ideal client or industry] to [what do you do for them]. For example, Tor Magne Refsland's headline is:

Other people use keywords and phrases that are broken up with separators. For example, Neal Schaffer's headline is:

✅ Write a strong summary

• Speak in the first person and tell your story
• Use short paragraphs, headers, and bullets
• Lead with a hook that invites people to read more
• Add media to showcase your work or achievements

✅ Use keywords strategically

• Include keywords in your headline, summary, job titles, and skills
• Think about what people would search to find someone like you

✅ Get endorsements and recommendations

• Share updates, articles, tips, or lessons learned
• Comment on posts from others in your industry
• Visibility = value. Show up consistently.

The best time to ask for a recommendation is when a client or a colleague has just thanked you for your excellent work. Ask them if they could take a minute to complete a LinkedIn recommendation and then add it to your profile.

There's no limit to how many recommendations or endorsements you can display on your profile. Your last two recommendations will always be visible with the option for people to view more. But with endorsements, you can choose which three are visible.

What are the best practices for writing a LinkedIn profile summary?

Here’s how to write one that converts:

• Lead with your audience’s need: Speak directly to their challenges or goals

• Keep it skimmable: Use short paragraphs, bullets, and white space

• Use first-person storytelling: Be human, relatable, and confident

• Include a clear CTA: Invite readers to connect, message, or book a call

• Add visuals: Embed case studies, videos, PDFs, or links to relevant content

How should I use keywords in my LinkedIn profile?

Think of your LinkedIn profile as your personal SEO page.

Where to use keywords:

• Headline
• Summary
• Experience/job titles
• Skills section
• Hashtags in “Talks About”

How to optimise your LinkedIn profile for job searches

If you're job hunting, here’s how to make your profile work harder:

• Turn on “Open to Work” and specify your preferences

• Use job-specific keywords and results-focused bullet points

• Show off your achievements with measurable outcomes (e.g. "increased engagement by 45%")

• List relevant tools, certifications, and skills

• Ask for recommendations from previous managers or colleagues

What are the best practices for optimising your LinkedIn profile for SEO?

• Complete every section — LinkedIn favours full profiles

• Use consistent titles and company names across jobs

• Link to your profile from your website, blog, email signature, or portfolio

• Avoid copy-pasting from your CV — use original, value-led language

How often should I post on LinkedIn?

The sweet spot for visibility in 2025 is 2–5 posts per week. If you're struggling to get started and come up with ideas, we suggest you start by outlining your content pillars. Think of them as topics or themes you'll break down into multiple posts.

You can then use a tool like Sendible to group them into "campaigns" so you can track their performance and see what's working.

In the meantime, here are some content pillar ideas:

• Lessons learned from your work

• Industry trends or commentary

• Behind-the-scenes content

• Quick tips, how-tos, or myth-busting posts

• Client success stories (with permission)

And remember: Engagement fuels reach. Comment on posts from peers, clients, or people you'd like to collaborate with. Get proactive with your community management efforts. If you need some inspiration on how to do this, take a look at what The Marketing Millennials are doing.

 

Real LinkedIn profile examples that follow best practices

Zaria Parvez

• Headline that features her role, company, keywords and awards.
• Smart use of long-tail keyword (the owl on TikTok).
• Brief about section that highlights who she is and biggest achievement: "built @duolingo from 50K followers to 5M+. now have a dope content team that’s brought to where it is today at 15M+!"
• Duolingo branded background image with a screenshot of one of the Duo's most famous responses.

Olivia Mae Hanlon

• Clear headline that features her brand, title, and what she's famous for.
• A teaser for a new product launch.
• Background image that promotes her podcast.
• Consistent branding.
• About section that highlights what she does and what's next.

Tim Soulo

• Clear headline that features his role, brand, and success.
• A link to his website.
• Branded background with a highlighted success metric.
• An engaging about section that invites users to share their thoughts on his last posts.

Final checklist: LinkedIn profile best practices

✅ Add a professional photo and branded banner
✅ Write a headline that captures attention and includes keywords
✅ Craft a story-driven summary with a strong hook and CTA
✅ Use relevant keywords throughout your profile
✅ Collect endorsements and recommendations for social proof
✅ Post regularly and comment to stay visible

Need a step-by-step audit of your profile? Download our free LinkedIn Profile & Page Audit Checklist to see what’s working and what to improve.